Lexi Houston, a sixteen-year-old genius student, lives an uneventful life in California, homeschooled by her mom. All that is about to change as Lexi is sent to Sydney, Australia, to attend university alongside her three older overprotective brother...
After my mom, the girls, and I went to the mall and bought a lot of stuff, we decided to go to McDonald's and get meals for everyone in the dorms. My brothers would be thrilled because they sure loved to eat. Eat like wild animals that had not eaten in months. Those were my precious brothers! Whom am I kidding? I was probably like them.
"Girls, go buy the food, and I will take the bags and put them in the car. Don't be late," mom instructed, and we nodded. She and the girls bonded pretty well. They just clicked, and that made me happy. Of course, she embarrassed me in front of them by saying that Jude was hot and we suited each other and whatnot. I just rolled my eyes and ignored her fantasy. Jude and I? Together? That was hard to imagine. My brothers won't allow it anyway.
We ordered what we wanted and waited for a table. As we were about to sit down, we heard whistles and howling. I lifted my head and turned around. I saw a group of boys staring at us with lustful eyes. Every place had this group of boys, and it was getting old. "Come on, girls. Come, sit with us," one of them said. His face was cute. Too bad he had a nasty personality — that was my judgment. We ignored them and sat. "Oh, playing hard to get now? We are four guys, and you are four girls, so..." he added, and I smirked and looked at him.
My smirk had a different meaning than what he had in mind. I crossed my arms. "Wow, you can count! Good for you. Maybe that will help you count how many teeth are left in your mouth after I punch you if you don't shut up and leave us alone," I threatened with a smile. His buddies whistled like it was the only language they could speak. My girls glared at them, and I was preparing my fists for the worst.
"So, you think you can hit me and cause me that much damage? Cute," he replied, and I counted to ten in my head. They said that you have got to give the weak a second chance. I was trying so hard. Latoya decided to speak up and serve the dude a piece of her mind.
"Oh, do not underestimate her ability to harm you. I know what she can do, so don't push your luck if you have any left, and leave us alone, will you?" she spat, turned her head, and called for the worker to get us our food so that we could get out of this place. The boys stood up, and each one of them stood behind each one of us. The dude that talked put his hands on my shoulders and tried to slide his hands down my chest, but I grabbed them and stood up. I wasted no seconds and brought my fist to his mouth. As promised!
He grunted and stepped back. "Don't you dare touch me ever again, and you should start counting your teeth. I always stand by my words," I shouted and stood up to grab our food. Finally! "Let's go, girls," I called and saw each one of them push the boys to the ground. Girls should not be underestimated because we can fight. If not by our fists, we can by our words. Every customer and worker glared at the boys as we paid and walked out of there.
"Boys can be a pain in the butt!" Alice commented, and we agreed. We walked to the car and saw mom sitting in the driver's seat, texting on her phone. The moment she saw us, she got out.
"What took you so long?" she asked.
"Some group of guys hit on us, but we handled it," Jess replied, and I facepalmed myself. I should have said something about not telling mom because she can be a monster when she knows something went wrong with the people she loves. I mentally counted to three and then saw her eyes grow wide.
"What?! Where are they now?" she asked as she closed the car door. I tried to stop her, but she gave me a warning look. "No one messes with my girls. Now, where the hell are they?" she asked again, and we followed her to the mall. That should be good! Mama bear is scary.
"We left them in McDonald's," Lee answered, and mom headed there without giving us a second glance. I just kept praying that she would not kill anyone. As we entered, all eyes turned to us, and the group of boys was still there. Here we go... Mom looked around and then spotted them. She gave me a look, and I nodded.
"You are the guys who hit on my girls?" mom asked, and they looked at us. They were slightly nervous. I could tell.
"More like they hit us," the one that I punched declared, and I looked at his bruised jaw. He pointed to his jaw and looked at me. Mom smirked and high-fived me. "Oh, so you encourage that bitch?" he spat, and I sighed. Now he has done it.
"Bad word choice, fella." Jess patted his shoulder, and we all stepped one step back. Mom walked closer to him and smiled. That smile was destructive. I have experienced it before: all my brothers did too.
"You did not just call my daughter that!"
"I believe I did," he said with total confidence, and his boys stepped back just like we did. It was too quiet; you could hear a pin drop. Mom raised her hand and slapped him right across his face. His head snapped to the left, and I waited for her lecture.
"You are a rude kid, you know that? Who raised you to speak to girls that way? That's no way to talk to anyone. Every girl here has her own dignity that she tries so hard to protect, but with guys like you, it's hard to protect it. What if someone called your sister that? Would you be happy about that?" mom shouted while staring at him.
"I don't have sisters, so I wouldn't know," he replied, and mom scoffed.
"That's not an excuse! Imagine a friend or your mom being called that!" Mom fired back. "Do not you dare call girls that again. You boys, don't hit on girls and make them scared of you. If you like a girl, talk to her in a normal way and believe me, she won't feel uncomfortable," she exclaimed. We walked out, not waiting for anyone's reaction.
"That was amazing," the girls said in unison, and I laughed.
"Yes, it was. Let's head home and eat," I agreed, and we hopped into the car, and mom drove us back.
~~~
"Those are my favorite girls. I love you," Arlo said as he saw us with food bags. "What's in the bag?"
"Who is your favorite, us or the food?" I asked with a grin and handed everyone their share. Arlo shrugged, then kissed my forehead.
"Both," he replied, and we began eating. "So, how was your day? Did you have fun?" he asked, and I looked at the girls. We agreed to keep it a secret from them because, well... We all know what they would do.
"Yes, it was cool, kinda boring, and uneventful."
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